Why are motorists mowing down so many pedestrians (“Year’s alarming rise in pedestrian deaths spurs campaign,” Star-Advertiser, March 17)?

Most of us notice that the posted 55 mph freeway speed limit is treated like a recommendation, as traffic zips along between 70 mph and 80 mph. Few police officers appear to be doing much about it, and no one is complaining as they are getting home in plenty of time to turn on the DVR to watch prerecorded shows.

The down side of this speeding is that after racing near 80 mph on the freeway, some speeders suddenly roll into a 25 mph zone on Farrington Highway. So pity the poor pedestrian who isn’t ready for a car rolling through Waianae’s 25 mph zone at 45 or 50 mph.

As a senior citizen, my greatest fear is not a missile attack from North Korea, but a speeding motorist taking me out in a crosswalk.

Ed Stevens

Mililani

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Vehicles may not be abandoned

This is in response to the letter, “Trash, old vehicles piling up in Kalihi” (Star-Advertiser, March 16).

Yes, there seems to be a lot of abandoned vehicles in Kalihi. Some appear to be abandoned, but are wrongly cited because they’re actually parked on private property. On many side streets, property lines often extend into the road. Roads that the city does not own. Private roads.

I live on a private road. I’ve had six abandoned-vehicle citations issued against me. All were dismissed “with prejudice.” I proved in court that my vehicles were parked within my property at the time. A vehicle parked on private property may not be abandoned.

I had a problem with homeless people living in their cars. Before making a complaint, find out why the vehicle is there.

Clarence Chun

Kalihi

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Condominiums don’t always recycle

State lawmakers want to increase the bottle/can deposits from 5 cents to 10 cents because three-year numbers show a drop in the redemption rate from 77 percent to 66 percent (“If approved, a state Senate bill would increase can and bottle deposits to a dime,” Star-Advertiser, March 19).

Perhaps the wealthy stopped recycling. I never ever saw a Mercedes owner drive up to a recycling center.

Or could it be that more people are choosing to live in condominiums and recycling is next to impossible? The state should investigate condominium communities and create a system to pick up the recycling material from them instead of taxing the less privileged.

I’ve heard many condominiums communities do not participate in recycling and simply toss the recyclables into the trash, which is picked up by a private company.

Dexter Yuen

Aiea

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Rental car fleet could be electric

Thanks to the Volkswagen “Dieselgate” settlement, Hawaii is receiving $8.125 million to spend on reducing vehicle emissions in the state. Of that, up to 15 percent, or $1.2 million, can be spent on electric vehicle infrastructure.

Other states have implemented a subsidy of $5,000 or more to install charging stations at public and private locations.

However, if Hawaii were to do this, we could only fund 240 individual projects. Instead, I recommend the state focus on a project that will have a much bigger impact — electrifying the state’s rental car fleet.

More and more drivers are choosing to drive electric nationwide, and visitors to Hawaii are in a perfect position to try an electric car for the first time. But not enough hotels have charging ports, and the new consolidated rental car facility at the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport needs the capacity to handle EV charging for rental car companies.

Funding EV charging at these and other tourist locations could switch thousands of pollution- emitting vehicles on Hawaii’s roads to electric.

Jeffrey Napoleon

Kaneohe

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Hawaii should save ACA protections

The federal government’s relentless attack on the Affordable Care Act requires that we push to ensure that ACA protections — including preventing insurers from denying coverage for those with pre-existing conditions, charging women more for premiums or contributions, and covering dependent youth under 26 — will continue to be Hawaii law regardless of the federal government’s actions.

The state House of Representatives is currently considering Senate Bill 2340, which would do just that. It needs your support.

As a young person currently covered by my parents’ insurance, I and almost 6,000 others in Hawaii could become uninsured.

Many of us attend college full-time and work part-time at jobs that rarely offer employer insurance. We do not make enough to afford insurance on top of tuition, housing and food.

Without the ACA, most young people would go without insurance, with limited access to affordable health care and at risk of long-term financial distress.

Jennifer Hsu

Aiea

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Youth need to keep their activism going

It is encouraging that the victims (children) are speaking up and loudly (“For 17 minutes, thousands of Hawaii students walk out to honor Florida’s 17 dead,” Star-Advertiser, March 15).

One hopes they can continue and perhaps think about picketing some gun shows or other events.

Who knows, they may even be powerful enough to take on the National Rifle Association.

Alvin Murphy

Manoa